Digital Foundry Is Now Fully Independent

One of my most beloved tech YouTube channels just announced that they are fully independent! This is good news if you are a fan of independent media and don't love large companies buying everything then a little while later shutting it down. With that, Digital Foundry has purchased back IGN's stake in it to be fully independent and are now looking to expand. Digital Foundry reviews video games and it's focus is on the nerdier side of how those games perform on modern hardware. They also have a retro focus which I've shared quite a bit here on Cheerful Ghost.

"Amazing news! Digital Foundry has parted ways with IGN and we've bought their shareholding in the business.... Read All One of my most beloved tech YouTube channels just announced that they are fully independent! This is good news if you are a fan of independent media and don't love large companies buying everything then a little while later shutting it down. With that, Digital Foundry has purchased back IGN's stake in it to be fully independent and are now looking to expand. Digital Foundry reviews video games and it's focus is on the nerdier side of how those games perform on modern hardware. They also have a retro focus which I've shared quite a bit here on Cheerful Ghost.

"Amazing news! Digital Foundry has parted ways with IGN and we've bought their shareholding in the business. What this means is that from now on, all aspects of DF are decided upon by DF. We answer to nobody but you, the audience. We are fully independent, we’re proud of that, we think it’s the future of games media - but how far we push, how ambitious we want to be... well, that's where YOU come in. Rich, John and Alex discuss the news in this brand new episode of DF Direct."

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Nightdive Releases Heretic + Hexen Remastered!

Nightdive Studios is back with an all new remaster, this time of the classic shooters Heretic & Hexen. Folks have been asking for remasters of both these games for quite a while so it's good that they've finally come with a ton of old and news levels to play!

• Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders


• Hexen: Beyond Heretic


• Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel


• Two all-new episodes created in collaboration between individuals at id Software + Nightdive Studios:




• Heretic: Faith Renewed


• Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur

Game also ships with all new Online, Local, Cooperative and Deathmatch Multiplayer – with Cross-Platform play as well as a classic art vault and entirely new... Read All Nightdive Studios is back with an all new remaster, this time of the classic shooters Heretic & Hexen. Folks have been asking for remasters of both these games for quite a while so it's good that they've finally come with a ton of old and news levels to play!

• Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders


• Hexen: Beyond Heretic


• Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel


• Two all-new episodes created in collaboration between individuals at id Software + Nightdive Studios:




• Heretic: Faith Renewed


• Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur

Game also ships with all new Online, Local, Cooperative and Deathmatch Multiplayer – with Cross-Platform play as well as a classic art vault and entirely new soundtrack!

"Step into the definitive re-release of two dark spell-casting shooters that shaped the genre. This enhanced restoration makes Heretic + Hexen available to new audiences and long-time fans with expanded accessibility across more platforms and languages than ever before. "

https://slayersclub.bethesda.net/en-US/article/heretic-hexen-release-notes

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Mario Paint Comes to Switch Online, Now Release Mario Paint 2!

In my opinion, Mario Paint is one of the best games that came out on the Super Nintendo. It's a hard game to play without original hardware as it requires the Super Nintendo mouse but now that Switch 2 comes with mouse functionality, Nintendo has included Mario Paint in Nintendo Online. It has all the features of the original Mario Paint including the incredible Fly Swatter game, which is a favorite of my son and I. I've loved this game for a long time and I hope now Nintendo finally has the drive to remake this Mario Maker style. A modern Mario Paint game where fans can share art, music and more would be incredible. Plus they could go fairly hard in remaking the Fly... Read All In my opinion, Mario Paint is one of the best games that came out on the Super Nintendo. It's a hard game to play without original hardware as it requires the Super Nintendo mouse but now that Switch 2 comes with mouse functionality, Nintendo has included Mario Paint in Nintendo Online. It has all the features of the original Mario Paint including the incredible Fly Swatter game, which is a favorite of my son and I. I've loved this game for a long time and I hope now Nintendo finally has the drive to remake this Mario Maker style. A modern Mario Paint game where fans can share art, music and more would be incredible. Plus they could go fairly hard in remaking the Fly Swatter game, which the world needs to heal us all in these difficult times.

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Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted Drops October 23rd!

Looks like EA is finally giving Plants VS Zombies the long awaited remaster treatment in Plants VS Zombies: Replanted. Looks like the game is coming to all the modern systems including some new stuff like co-op and pvp. Not sure if I'll pick this up on PC or Switch but it's certainly something I will get and I'm hoping it has a physical release.

"The classic Plants vs. Zombies returns in glorious HD. DANG! After years in Crazy Dave’s attic, the original battle between Plants and Zombies is back — bigger, brighter, and crazier than ever before! Experience the game that started it all, now remastered with upscaled HD graphics and packed with new secrets to uncover.... Read All Looks like EA is finally giving Plants VS Zombies the long awaited remaster treatment in Plants VS Zombies: Replanted. Looks like the game is coming to all the modern systems including some new stuff like co-op and pvp. Not sure if I'll pick this up on PC or Switch but it's certainly something I will get and I'm hoping it has a physical release.

"The classic Plants vs. Zombies returns in glorious HD. DANG! After years in Crazy Dave’s attic, the original battle between Plants and Zombies is back — bigger, brighter, and crazier than ever before! Experience the game that started it all, now remastered with upscaled HD graphics and packed with new secrets to uncover. Revisit the epic backyard standoffs you remember, this time with new levels, fresh twists, and 15 years of never-before-seen franchise history at your fingertips. Relive the glory days of peashooters, sunflowers, and brain-hungry chaos! Rejoin the ultimate garden defense, and experience the backyard brawl that started a phenomenon — now back for a new era."

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DF Retro EX: Doom 1993 To Doom The Dark Ages

"In a special presentation, Alex Battaglia takes a look at Doom past and present, discussing the massive technological leap delivered by John Carmack back in 1993 - and the vastly expensive technology required to get playable frame-rates - through to the extra scope and demands of Doom 2 and the incredible per-pixel lighting of Doom 3. It's a series defined by technological innovation pushing PC hard - as exemplified by our final game in focus - Doom: The Dark Ages. "In a special presentation, Alex Battaglia takes a look at Doom past and present, discussing the massive technological leap delivered by John Carmack back in 1993 - and the vastly expensive technology required to get playable frame-rates - through to the extra scope and demands of Doom 2 and the incredible per-pixel lighting of Doom 3. It's a series defined by technological innovation pushing PC hard - as exemplified by our final game in focus - Doom: The Dark Ages.

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Switch 2 Launches With Free Upgrades For Classic Titles!

The Switch 2 has solidly launched and seems to be selling faster than any console in recent times. As part of the Switch 2 launch Nintendo has released some free graphical upgrades to many first party titles including the top down Zelda games Link's Awakening and Echoes of Wisdom. I've linked a Digital Foundry video that side by sides many of the upgrades. Switch 2 being backwards compatible is one of the best features of the system and in some cases, the games are running a lot better with these graphical lifts. I'm personally looking forward to replaying Link's Awakening in glorious 4K 60!

... Read All The Switch 2 has solidly launched and seems to be selling faster than any console in recent times. As part of the Switch 2 launch Nintendo has released some free graphical upgrades to many first party titles including the top down Zelda games Link's Awakening and Echoes of Wisdom. I've linked a Digital Foundry video that side by sides many of the upgrades. Switch 2 being backwards compatible is one of the best features of the system and in some cases, the games are running a lot better with these graphical lifts. I'm personally looking forward to replaying Link's Awakening in glorious 4K 60!

https://mynintendonews.com/2025/07/01/nintendo-has-now-sold-over-5-million-nintendo-switch-2-consoles-worldwide/

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Travel The Oregon Trail Again

Recently I learned a lot from Gaming Historian's latest video on the classic game Oregon Trail. Did you know that Oregon Trail was originally created by teachers in Minneapolis and later evolved into something more? I played a lot of Oregon Trail and the Apple II computers at my school and it was fun to watch this series about how that happened and the history of MECC (Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium) which is the organization that brought Oregon Trail to schools and families in the United States. Recently I learned a lot from Gaming Historian's latest video on the classic game Oregon Trail. Did you know that Oregon Trail was originally created by teachers in Minneapolis and later evolved into something more? I played a lot of Oregon Trail and the Apple II computers at my school and it was fun to watch this series about how that happened and the history of MECC (Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium) which is the organization that brought Oregon Trail to schools and families in the United States.

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Watch this Epic Series on Dwarf Fortress!

Wanted to share a recent four part documentary series about Dwarf Fortress. Dwarf Fortress is one of the deepest simulation games to ever be created and this doc series by Noclip goes into all of the fun details from the games early days to it's recent launch on Steam. Wanted to share a recent four part documentary series about Dwarf Fortress. Dwarf Fortress is one of the deepest simulation games to ever be created and this doc series by Noclip goes into all of the fun details from the games early days to it's recent launch on Steam.

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Atari 50: More Documentary Baby!

Recently I was gifted Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration – Expanded Edition on Switch and over the course of a few nights worked my way through it. The collection is one part historical documentary and one part games collection. With that, i'd say the Anniversary Celebration's strength is in the historical layout of the games, art and documentary style videos. By the end I was wanting more videos about Atari and the games, which I suppose is a good thing. Still, all the Atari games you'd want to play are here and that's fun but I do wish there was more of the documentary included.

That said, if you want to play all the core Atari hits and want a great historical... Read All Recently I was gifted Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration – Expanded Edition on Switch and over the course of a few nights worked my way through it. The collection is one part historical documentary and one part games collection. With that, i'd say the Anniversary Celebration's strength is in the historical layout of the games, art and documentary style videos. By the end I was wanting more videos about Atari and the games, which I suppose is a good thing. Still, all the Atari games you'd want to play are here and that's fun but I do wish there was more of the documentary included.

That said, if you want to play all the core Atari hits and want a great historical accounting of the history of Atari you need to pick up the Anniversary Celebration!

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Marvel Cosmic Invasion

I guess since we haven't received a X-Men Arcade re-release this is the next best thing. I loved Shredder's Revenge and this looks to be made by the same company.

"Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a new game in the classic brawler style coming from DotEmu. Nova, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Phyla-Vell, Captain America, and many more heroes, both earth-born and cosmic, will join forces in a star-spanning brawling adventure against the deadly Annihilation Wave. Marvel Cosmic Invasion coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox, and PC (Steam) in 2025." I guess since we haven't received a X-Men Arcade re-release this is the next best thing. I loved Shredder's Revenge and this looks to be made by the same company.

"Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a new game in the classic brawler style coming from DotEmu. Nova, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Phyla-Vell, Captain America, and many more heroes, both earth-born and cosmic, will join forces in a star-spanning brawling adventure against the deadly Annihilation Wave. Marvel Cosmic Invasion coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox, and PC (Steam) in 2025."

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